MATCH INFO:

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Leigh Sports Village Stadium, Leigh, England

Kickoff: November 8th, 2020 at 7:00 a.m. EST

WHERE TO WATCH: The FA Player

It is shaping up to be an exciting weekend of soccer in the FA Women’s Super League, with six matches set to take place between Saturday and Sunday. On our radar is the upcoming tilt between Arsenal, who currently sits atop the WSL standings, and Manchester United, currently in third. The match will be played this Sunday, November 8th at 7:00 a.m. EST at Leigh Sports Village Stadium in Leigh, England.

Straight back to it ????

All eyes on Sunday ????#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/b8357cB995

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) November 5, 2020

Arsenal has had quite an impressive start to the 2020-2021 season, maintaining an undefeated streak and a 5-0-0 record with five wins in five matches played. In those five matches, Arsenal has scored 29 goals while simultaneously only allowing 4 goals against — earning a perfect 15 points to reign atop the league standings, though only a mere 2 points separate Arsenal from both second-place Everton and Manchester United.

Manchester United has likewise been off to a hot start, winning four and drawing one of their five league matches for a 4-1-0 record. Thus far, the squad has recorded 14 goals and limited their opponents to only 5 goals against. Like Everton, Manchester United has 13 points, with only goal differential separating the two.

Here's how the #BarclaysFAWSL table looks after gameweek 5️⃣ ???? pic.twitter.com/LRDARmefhy

— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) October 18, 2020

Needless to say, Sunday’s matchup will be a fight —  especially given Manchester United’s recent additions. In September, the club signed US women’s national team stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press. Heath, who left the Portland Thorns to play in Manchester, has recorded 168 appearances with the USWNT, scoring 33 goals and assisting 40 for her country. Press, on the other hand, joins Manchester United from the Utah Royals and has logged 138 appearances for the USWNT, in which she’s netted 58 goals and assisted 37. The pair have also won two World Cup trophies for the United States in 2015 and 2019.

Since their signings, the two have already left a notable impression on Manchester United — each opening their scoring account with the club in their third appearance for the team, boosting Manchester United to a 4-2 win over West Ham United on October 18th.

Red & Ready! @ManUtdWomen pic.twitter.com/hZudQBEwKR

— Christen Press (@ChristenPress) September 24, 2020

This expert @TobinHeath finish for #MUWomen is on the October shortlist for Goal of the Month! ????@OfficialPES

— Manchester United Women (@ManUtdWomen) November 3, 2020

Arsenal has not faced Manchester United since the team added Heath and Press to their roster, meaning this match could be anyone’s game. The last meeting between the two squads took place back in February, with Arsenal holding onto a 2-1 win to knock Manchester United out of the Continental Tyres League Cup. Dutch-born forward Vivianne Miedema recorded the brace for Arsenal while Mollie Green notched Manchester United’s lone goal in the late minutes of the match, sparking hope for a comeback that fell short as the final whistle blew.

Providing Everton loses to Chelsea on Sunday, Manchester United has the opportunity to dethrone Arsenal and move into first place in WSL League 1 standings should they secure the win and three points. There’s a lot on the line, which means there’s plenty of reasons to wake up early for this powerhouse showdown on Sunday.

WHAT’S NEXT IN THE FA WSL:

 

November 14th 

Manchester United vs. Manchester City @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Everton vs. Reading FC @ 11:30 a.m. EST

Bristol City vs. Tottenham @ 1:30 p.m. EST

November 15th

West Ham vs. Brighton & Hove Albion @ 7:30 a.m. EST

Arsenal vs. Chelsea @ 9:30 a.m. EST

Unrivaled Basketball is stocking up ahead of the 3×3 offseason league's 2026 campaign, rolling out the first group of six players set to join its second season on Monday.

Officially returning to the league's Miami court this year are Phoenix forward Alyssa Thomas and her Mercury teammate Satou Sabally, as well as LA Sparks forward Rickea Jackson.

Joining the Unrivaled returnees will be a trio of newcomers, with Seattle Storm veteran guard Erica Wheeler set to log her first minutes in the new league alongside a pair of WNBA star freshmen in Connecticut Sun guard Saniya Rivers and 2025 Rookie of the Year and Dallas Wings standout Paige Bueckers.

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Unrivaled plans to announce six athletes every weekday through October 1st, as the league gears up for its first 54-player season, which tips off on January 5th.

Fueled by a successful debut year and significant additional investment, Unrivaled accelerated its salary growth and expansion plans, adding two new teams plus an additional development pool of players to the league's 2026 season.

"If we didn't expand rosters, there were going to be All-Stars who we didn't have space for," Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell recently told ESPN. "We want to be the home for all of the best players in the world."

Due to the increase to eight total teams, Unrivaled could see their rosters rearranged for the sophomore campaign — meaning returning players like Laces BC's Thomas, Mist BC's Jackson, and Phantom BC's Sabally could suit up for a different squad next year.

Following the reveal of the league's full lineup, Unrivaled plans to drop team assignments in November.

Celebrated Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmatí took home her third consecutive Ballon d'Or at Monday's 2025 awards, becoming the first-ever women's footballer to accomplish the feat.

FC Barcelona has dominated the last five international football player of the year honors, with the voting panel of journalists tapping Barça star Alexia Putellas in 2021 and 2022 followed by Bonmatí starting in 2023.

"My third time in a row here, and I still can't believe it, incredible," Bonmatí said at the annual Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris. "Thank you to France Football for this, for the third time — it really could have gone to anyone."

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The 27-year-old's win wasn't without controversy with Bonmatí beating out fellow Spanish national Mariona Caldentey (Arsenal), who came in second despite scoring in both her club's UWCL Final win and Spain's 2025 Euro Final loss.

"If it was possible to share it, I would, because I think it has been a year with an exceptionally high level, above all among my teammates, who had a great year," added Bonmatí.

After their successful Euro title defense, England fans were also miffed at the choice, though manager Sarina Wiegman did win Coach of the Year.

Five Lionesses also earned spots in the Ballon d'Or's Top 10: No. 3 Alessia Russo (Arsenal), No. 5 Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), No. 7 Leah Williamson (Arsenal), No. 9 Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), and No. 10 Hannah Hampton (Chelsea).

Meanwhile, Arsenal was named Women's Club of the Year after dethroning Barcelona in May's Champions League final.

As for the USWNT, standouts Emily Fox (Arsenal) and Lindsey Heaps (OL Lyonnes) made this year's 30-player finalists list, clocking in at Nos. 25 and 26, respectively.

Second-year Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has his work cut out for him as No. 4 Phoenix preps for Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals against the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night.

Armed with a revamped roster and a modern technical approach common among next-gen WNBA coaches, Tibbetts will try to lead Phoenix to the win the Mercury need to tie up their best-of-five series — doing so against a Lynx team laser focused on returning to the WNBA Finals under legendary manager Cheryl Reeve.

"They've been doing it, and now they've all got championships under their belt," Tibbetts told JWS, giving props to elite veterans coaches like Reeve. "Nothing is new to them when it comes to this league."

Ending the regular season on a 27-17 record, the Mercury have benefitted from Tibbetts's stretch offense all year, lengthening the court and freeing up room for sharp-shooters like 2025 WNBA MVP finalist Alyssa Thomas to crash the glass.

That strategy led Phoenix to a Top-5 regular-season finish in rebounds per game (34.7) and assists per game (20.9), as well as total 3-pointers made (414).

"[It's] just maximizing shot attempts, getting your players to understand the true values of what a shot looks like from a points-per-shot basis," Tibbetts explained. "I don’t think you need to overdo it — there's a ton of smart players in our league."

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury vs. Minnesota Lynx in Game 2

Tibbetts and the No. 4 Mercury will try to even the score with Reeve and the No. 1 Lynx in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals at 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday, airing live on ESPN.

With their 17-game winning streak fading in the review, the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces enter Tuesday's Game 2 clash with the No. 6 Indiana Fever vying to dig themselves out of a 0-1 hole in the 2025 WNBA semifinals.

"We didn't really have a pep to us, the pace that they were playing at, the pep that they had in their step, we just didn't have that," Aces guard Jackie Young said following Sunday's Game 1 loss. "It's on us to change that next game."

"I thought it was really poor, really poor," echoed Las Vegas head coach Becky Hammon, putting her team's recent defensive effort on blast.

Additionally, the Aces will be must-win mode on Tuesday night, as no WNBA team has ever bounced back from dropping the two opening games of a best-of-five series.

The Aces will likely try to avoid over-relying on star forward A'ja Wilson this time, after the Fever held the four-time WNBA MVP to just 16 points in Game 1.

"I know we're capable, but not when we play like that," said Hammon after Sunday's loss. "God forbid A'ja doesn't drop 40 [points] for us. We had 12 assists in 40 minutes tonight."

Las Vegas will also focus on stopping Indiana star guard Kelsey Mitchell after the first-time MVP finalist set records with her game-high 34 points on Sunday.

"You can't ask any one person to guard her," explained Hammon in respect to Mitchell's game. "It takes multiple actions and multiple bodies."

How to watch Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces in WNBA semifinals Game 2

The No. 2 Las Vegas Aces will host the No. 6 Indiana Fever again in Game 2 of the 2025 WNBA semifinals on Tuesday.

The action will tip off at 9:30 PM ET, with live coverage on ESPN.